BlackBerry may be struggling on the stock market but the Canadian mobile communication company continues to make headway with its security assurances. Last week, the Waterloo-based firm received full operational capability (FOC) to run on U.S. Department of Defense networks.
BlackBerry is the first mobility solution to earn the coveted FOC designation, granted by the Defense Information Systems Agency, which means government employees with a BlackBerry 10 smartphone connected with the company’s enterprise service can securely “access email, data, apps and other DoD network resources,” according to a press release.
The designation also permits “dual personality” capability. As an example, the company said employees can use BlackBerry Balance technology, “which allows users to instantly toggle between work and personal profiles. BlackBerry Balance separates and secures work data from personal content, allowing the user to gain secure access to DoD network resources, along with the full benefits of a consumer experience.”
“As the first mobile solutions provider to achieve FOC, BlackBerry continues to prove why we are the most trusted enterprise mobility platform,” said John Sims, BlackBerry’s president of global enterprise services, in a prepared statement. “BlackBerry worked side-by-side with DISA to help certify the BlackBerry 10 solution offering the U.S. government an end-to-end mobile infrastructure that does not compromise on security and provides the most productive and collaborative mobile experience.”
Earlier in the week, BlackBerry’s Secure Work Space for iOS and Android was awarded Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certification. The FIPS validation, an important benchmark for both governments and the private sector, is an assurance that encryption technology has passed thorough testing.
At a time of heightened interest in cybersecurity, these two announcements are positive steps for a company in need of good news.